Q&A
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How does Anthropology study Culture?
Anthropology’s primary methodology is participant observation because it facilitates the precise and multi-dimensional documentation of complex phenomena. The ethnography that is written based on our participant observation tells the story of a group or a culture. Ethnography describes human behavior in a vital and fascinating manner in all its contradictions, vulnerability and charm.
What are the Benefits of Anthropology?
Anthropology is considered one of the primary tools with which we can understand diverse institutional contexts. Every institution that deals with multi-cultural audiences faces complex and fateful decisions about how to best meet the needs of rich mosaics of students, patients, customers, or consumers, who speak different languages, have different meaning worlds, and who lead very different lifestyles. More and more institutions are seeking answers to these questions and anthropologists are on the forefront – equipped with knowledge pertaining to diversity and multiculturalism.
Who might study Anthropology?
A masters (M.A.) in anthropology is the right choice for those who wish to explore how meaning is constructed, adapted, and negotiated in complex contexts, and for those wishing to learn how to make professional knowledge accessible to others from diverse backgrounds. The field of anthropology is ‘right’ for those interested in an academic career, but also for those interested in a more engaged approach to anthropological work. In order to be accepted in the department, you will have to take a few pre-requisites that provide a foundation in anthropology, although you would not need a BA in sociology and anthropology. For candidates who have excelled in the past in other fields – without a background in anthropology, it may be possible to condense your pre-requisites. Our MA advisor, Dr. Carol Kidron will be happy to provide detailed information via email or on the phone.
Why should you do an MA in Anthropology?
Beyond the direct and unmediated study of culture, meaning, and human beings – in all their commonality and diversity, anthropology will provide you with tools that will most certainly serve you in various career paths in contemporary job markets. In order to excel in competitive employment contexts, you will have to exhibit flexibility of thought, innovation, and the ability to translate global concepts into local concepts and visa versa. An MA in anthropology will provide you with these tools while guaranteeing continued interest and satisfaction.
Why choose the anthropology department at the University of Haifa?
The department at the University of Haifa is one of a kind. Only at Haifa can you study anthropology ‘in its own right’ or as we say in Hebrew – ‘netto’, as part of a diverse student body. The department combines a strong foundation in social science with a humanistic perspective, attracting students from a wide range of scholarly fields and backgrounds. In addition, semi-applied tracks, opening in the near future, promise to create interfaces between anthropology and biomedicine, mental health, and social activism towards aiming for social change.
Medical and Psychological Anthropology
In the fall of 2018 we launched a semi-applied MA program custom designed for professionals in health-related fields – medicine, psychiatry and psychology, or social work, interested in specializing in cultural competency. The program will provide an opportunity to meet other professional practitioners who are already working in health and welfare-related institutions and together explore the challenges of multiculturalism in various social contexts. The program is of course tailored as well to those who may not have a professional background in health-related contexts, who wish to study the fascinating interface between the body, health, wellbeing and culture.
Engaged Anthropology
Engagement is one of the three foundational principals of the University of Haifa’s Anthropology Department, alongside ethnography and a broad comparative perspective. Moreover, we will soon open an MA program in pubic anthropology which will allow students to undertake action research and to benefit from internships in a variety of organizations working towards social change.
Students Interested in a BA in Anthropology
Although our department presently offers graduate programs, BA students from other departments may take a cluster of anthropology courses as part of their undergraduate studies. The anthropology cluster will facilitate acceptance into the MA program.
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